Sail traveller and other small jobs

Last couple of nights I was finishing small jobs which remained to get Meritaten ready for sailing to summer harbour.

I’ve finished cabin floor around the new floor timber - oak supports and trimming old mahogany planks.

Most importantly - I have installed new mainsail traveller. It replaced ancient solution which I had - simple brass beam with very limited options for mainsail shape trimming.

The new traveller, as it is longer and spans across the cockpit - required making higher cross beam for mounting. The old beam, made of mahogany, is below cockpit benches’ tops. I’ve made a spacer beam, of oak, to equalise height difference. On top of that sits oak plank which serves as a base for new Barton traveller. The whole thing became a bit beefy which I see as an advantage - it reinforces the old beam below.

All oak components, after forming and sanding, got double layer of protective epoxy coating (WEST system). Later on I will also varnish them, together with the whole cockpit.

The top beam required some shaping due to collision with cockpit hatch. It took one hour to make and I’m pleased with the result.

On the dry run all parts were drilled for assembly. I used 100mm M6 stainless steel A4 bolts and nuts. They connect all beam components together and loop-nuts will serve as connection points for anchoring the traveller to the boat.

Upon installation all adjacent surfaces were taped, to simplify cleanup. I used Sika this time, the assembly will not be removed too often.

Screws were also bedded in Sika, to inhibit water entry into the wooden beam.

After installation the new traveller looks as if it was born with the boat. I chose Barton and not Selden or other brand as Barton was the only one with minimal amount of composite material used in the traveller. It is all anodised aluminium with Delrin ball bearings.

Tonight I rigged it with hemp-coloured steering 8mm rope and started making anchoring to the hull.

In the meantime I ordered service kit for sea-water pump for my Yanmar. Lidingö Marin was very quick - I got parts within one day!
Anyhow, I plan to mess with water pump after sailing to Norrtälje. I don’t want to prolong my stay in the boatyard and since I use the engine for few minutes only, when manoeuvring in the harbour, the leaking pump should not be the problem.

Meritaten is still not fully tight. The pump starts every 8-10 hours. I have a feeling that leaking increased since I started the engine and run it for 15 minutes, idling. It might be due to vibrations that planks, still not fully swelled, developed leaks on seems. Or it is these screws holding the engine foundation which leak - hard to tell since engine obstructs the view into bilge there.

I agreed with Anders that on Friday evening I will prepare the mast so that Saturday morning we can install the mast and rig Meritaten. Then I’ll start final preparation for sailing home - planned to happen on the next weekend.